Dominique Crenn Eyes SoMa, Mission for Second Restaurant [Updated]

Chef Dominique Crenn, whose restaurant Atelier Crenn opened in early 2011 and last year earned a second Michelin star, is scoping spaces in and around SoMa for a second restaurant project, according to the Chron. The news is tucked into a lengthy feature from Sunday’s paper centering on the Market Square project — which will ultimately be home to the AQ brasserie spinoff Bon Marché — and the various other projects in the pipeline that intend to serve the new office and residential populations invading mid-Market. “There are not a lot of other spaces in the city anymore, but South of Market has some beautiful buildings,” Crenn hints. We’ve reached out to her to see if the concept might be a casual one, like Daniel Patterson’s unnamed mid-Market project, and will let you know when we learn more. [Chron] Update: We spoke with Crenn and she actually sounds less keen on Mid-Market and SoMa than she is on the Mission and Hayes Valley. “I’m looking. But I still may not open something.” She says that if she opens something, she wants it to be “organic” and for the space to feel right, which probably means a space that isn’t brand new. As for the concept, it will be a “hybrid,” she hints, and will be comfortable, approachable, and smart. “The kind of food I want everyday,” she says.